


Shady Dealings

by Harukami



Series: For The Birds [9]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 11:24:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2346743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harukami/pseuds/Harukami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beni tries one more time with Koujaku; Huracan does some <i>real</i> investigation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shady Dealings

It's not like he spent a long night comforting Beni, or anything. Beni had wanted to keep his consciousness mostly in the real world, so once he'd received even a little comfort, he'd left again to go watch Koujaku. But it feels, to Huracan, as if it has been a long night. He comes out of sleep mode already concerned and wakes to a message from Beni: _Maybe things are a little better now?_

He doesn't want to play tag with messages or try to wrangle Beni away from Koujaku if things were improving; just sends coordinates so they can meet again. 

Beni looks exhausted although he's smiling, dark circles under his eyes and his short form slouched in a way he probably means to seem casual but looks more like he can't hold himself up. "Yo, Huracan."

"Beni," Huracan says. "What happened?"

Sighing, Beni runs a hand through the upswept feathers of his hair. "Well, I mean, he calmed down, you know? Which I guess is a good thing, he couldn't... like, it wasn't at all like him, getting that mad. Koujaku's a chill guy, you know? But he went and took a shower and spent a while smoking and eventually he called for me, so of course I came out, right. And he apologized, and he really did seem sorry, right? He looked awful, totally sad and miserable, so I forgave him right away! But..." Beni hesitates, shoulders lifting a little and then falling in an awkward shrug. "He still wouldn't tell me anything and told me to stop asking. That, you know. It's none of my business what he looks into in his personal time. He sounded sorry to say it but... he still said it."

Beni falls silent and still after that, and Huracan leans over, running a hand over Beni's hair, mimicking the gesture he'd just done. "Are you afraid that if you continue, he'll have you deactivated?"

"He never would!"

"Then, will you continue?"

Beni is silent, shoulders hunched, face growing more and more red as if struggling with something until it looks like he's going to burst. Finally, he yells, "I can't just stop, knowin' he's in danger, but it ain't like he's letting me go on with it either!"

Huracan nods. An idea, forming for a while now, seems to be ripe to be offered, but he knows it won't go over well. Still: "You understand, there's still things we can look into."

"What do you mean?"

"Clearly this ties into his past, since he's obviously looking for this person for a reason. While Koujaku is looking into this, we could also, by paying someone. There are people who specialize in digging up all the information on a person, and I'm sure that there's one information maniac we know who likely has already dug into Koujaku's history from before you knew him."

At first, Beni doesn't get it -- and then, as he suddenly begins to look apoplectic, he shoves away from Huracan. "Are you kidding me?!" he yelps. "That'd be the worst kind of betrayal! You know the boss's feelings on that guy!"

"They're not enemies. They just don't get along."

"It's the same thing!"

Huracan sighs. "Then you won't do it, and you don't want me to do it."

"Of course not!" Beni yells, and immediately looks uncertain. "I mean, I shouldn't. I shouldn't. Koujaku'll be hurt. I'd hurt him, you know? But..." He seems small like this, Huracan thinks, and in some ways, very alone. "...I don't know what to do if I'm not his partner. He's already hurting and he isn't letting me help at all and maybe that would help me help but... yeah, I mean, he couldn't trust me again after that? But... he ain't trusting me now either, goddammit!"

Crossing his arms, Huracan says, "That's very much your problem, isn't it..."

Beni starts to bristle again, hair standing up. "What, are you gonna toss me aside too-"

"By which I mean," Huracan says, pressing on, "that it's not my place to decide for you what to do. All I can do is make suggestions and support whatever you choose. That's the proper manner of things, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but--"

"I see very few options," Huracan says. "Of course, there may be ones I don't see, but all I can address is what I perceive. First, you could continue to try to convince Koujaku. Without going behind his back any more, you could continue to just try to ask him to share this burden with you."

Beni makes a face, rubbing at his jaw with the back of a hand. "...That might be the best option, but he ain't sharing now and I don't know how to make him."

"Another option is, as I said, for us to research information on our own by paying someone. As noted, Noiz's reputation is undeniable, and given their previous association he's most likely dug up as much information on Koujaku as he can, so he may have information we can use. I am sure I can acquire money from Mink if I ask for it. He likely won't even have any questions."

The face turns into more of a grimace at that. "Hard to believe _you_ got that good a relationship with that asshole."

"It is what it is," Huracan says. "Another option is that we can bring Aoba, Ren, and Mink into the equation properly, and get their opinions and assistance with Koujaku. We discussed this one previously."

Beni hugs himself, tugging his hands into his opposite sleeves. "Yeah and that ...might work, but... There's no taking that back, huh? Once they're involved they're gonna be acting on their own. That's different from the other two options."

"It is," Huracan says. "And the only other option I can see is letting it be. You can just give up and do what Koujaku wants. There's nothing wrong with it if that's the approach you want to take. Allmates exist as tools for our masters. Following his wishes is not, inherently, wrong, and I do not wish to pressure you into action."

Shaking himself all over like a wet dog, Beni glares a little. His cheeks are red, and he seems somewhat moved, trembling as much with some kind of restrained emotion as with his obvious annoyance. "That one ain't happening! Maybe it's okay for you to be a tool but I've always been more than that, stupid! I've always been his partner, so I ain't just gonna let him do whatever stupid thing he likes!"

"Very well, then."

Beni considers it, hugging himself harder, cheeks still flushed. Finally, he lets out an explosive rush of breath. "Ugh! Okay okay okay. I'll try to talk to Koujaku one more time, man. Just one more. If he gives me an inch I'll take a mile. But if he doesn't give me anything, I'll pick one of the other options."

"Understood," Huracan says.

***

Beni tries. He really, really tries. He perches in front of Koujaku before Koujaku can leave the house and puts it all out there, lays it all bare. He pours his metaphorical heart out in a rush of screeched words and fluffed feathers.

"-- I'm worried about you, man!" he finishes, at top volume. "I'm super freakin' worried! You ain't acting like yourself and we're partners, right? I got your back through thick and thin, so let's talk it out and go at this together! We'll make it work, right!" 

He holds out his wing, curled for a fist bump. Instead, Koujaku gives him a bright, pained smile, and cups him in both hands, picking him up and carrying him toward his face. Beni only has a moment to realize what's going to happen before it does, Koujaku gently kissing the top of his head. He can only feel it in terms of pressure sensors but it's like a sudden warm rush covers him, like if he could cry he'd cry, but with his entire body.

"I'm sorry, Beni," Koujaku says. "I really was the worst to you." He strokes Beni lightly, finger tracing down his head and along his back and tail feathers. "You don't deserve any of that... I'm really sorry."

Beni perks up a little under his touch. "It's cool, man, it's just, you know, whatever game you're in, I wanna be in it with you."

Koujaku's smile turns wider and sadder. "I know, and that's why you're the best, Beni. But... some things have to be dealt with on your own, and this is one of them."

Embarrassed, Beni lowers his gaze. Maybe trying to pursue this at all was the mistake. "Yeah, but--"

"Don't worry, okay?" Koujaku says. "Even if I'm doing this stuff on my own, you'll be fine. I'll make sure things work out for you."

"...What's that supposed to mean?"

But Koujaku doesn't answer, just puts him aside instead of on his shoulder. "I have to go out for a bit," he says. "Mind the house, okay, Beni? I shouldn't be long."

"Hey-!"

***

It's clear to Huracan, as Beni summarizes the situation, that Beni has decided to take action. There's a sort of trembling indignation around him that announces it. "You know what?" Beni says, as he finishes, "being a partner isn't about supporting bad decisions. It's not about agreeing anything's fine no matter what it is. If it drives a wedge between me and Koujaku -- man, so what! I gotta do what I gotta do, and I don't like how he's talking like we might not be together if he keeps on with what he's doing!"

"I understand," Huracan says agreeably, and is taken aback as Beni comes over on his own and leans up against him. He wraps an arm around him obligingly, a little flustered by it. "Which of those two options should we pick, then?"

"Let's get some info from the Ruff Rabbit bastard," Beni says. "We can always bring the others into it depending on what we find out, but once we bring 'em in there's no way to undo it."

Huracan nods. "If I may make a suggestion," he says delicately, "I think I should be the one to hire Noiz."

"Eh? What, why?! After I already made the decision-!"

"Well," Huracan says. "You're worried about learning all kinds of things about Koujaku against his will. This way, I can choose what information is relevant to pass on, so you don't end up with anything you don't think would be right to hear. That aside, you also won't be signalling to Noiz that you're working behind Koujaku's back; it's much simpler for me to do it."

Beni huffs, turning his face into Huracan's neck. It tickles, and he finds himself going very still, a kind of anticipation curling in his non-existant stomach. "Ugh. Fine, whatever," Beni says. "You do it, then," and then he pushes away. "I'm gonna go back. I gotta keep an eye on the house, after all."

Huracan tries not to feel disappointed. "Yes," he says. "Of course."

***

The weird part is, of course, when he asks Mink for money. It's a fair sum, as well; hiring an info-broker won't be cheap.

Mink stares at him for a long, silent moment. Seated on the hotel bed, metal wires and beads in his hands, he looks at Huracan over the rim of his glasses as if reassessing him again, as if weighing something, weighing him.

"Why?" he says, finally.

"It's in confidence," Huracan says. "...As part of consideration and respect. Please do me the same courtesy, if you can."

Another long silence, and then Mink sighs. "You're hooked into my bank account. You could wire whatever you wanted."

"Yes," Huracan says, a little offended. "But I'm your Allmate. I wouldn't spend your money without permission."

That seems, somehow, to relieve Mink. He sighs again. "Do what you want," he says, and goes back to threading beads.

Huracan arranges it through proper means, of course. He contacts Ruff Rabbit's leader, Mujina, and gets an appointment with their info broker; he shows up at the appropriate time.

"Good afternoon, Noiz," he says, when Noiz slouches into the room and the two of them are alone.

Noiz stops in the doorway, looks around for Mink, and then looks back to Huracan with that inscrutable blank expression he tends to wear. "Haa?"

"I am your client today."

"Mink is, then."

Huracan folds his wings. "No. I am. Mink is aware that I am using his funds but I am doing so for my own purposes. Is that a problem?"

Noiz looks at him for another long, unreadable moment, then lets out a sigh. "It's whatever," he says, and slouches over to a seat, slings himself down in it, pulling out one of his Allmate's cubes and bringing up some screens. "Getting hired by an Allmate. It's whatever, all right."

"So you aren't totally against the idea."

"A job's a job," Noiz says, his tone apparently bored, but his foot is tapping on the ground, knee jiggling. "What is it, Huracan?"

Huracan doesn't ask how Noiz knows his name. Most likely, Aoba revealed it at some point when they talked, and if Noiz simply has dug into their life now... well, it's not as if that's unexpected either.

"Hur-a-can! Hur-a-can!" Usagimodoki's cube spins in the air above Noiz's hand. "This is special! A special visit! From Hur-a-can! Tori Huracan Tori Huracan Tori Huracan!"

"...He's just a client," Noiz says.

"Exciting! Hur-a-can, a-client! How special! Get to know you!"

"You already know me," Huracan says, a little taken aback.

"Better! Better! P!"

Noiz seems to roll his eyes. "Anyway. What did you want to know?"

"I would like to know all the information you have on Benishigure's head, if you please."

"Haa? On that guy, huh." Noiz flicks his wrist; Usagimodoki spins with an excited little chirp and more screens pop up. "Mink's looking into Benishigure?"

"No. As I said, I am acting independently of Mink. I'm trying to satisfy some curiosity of my own," Huracan says.

Noiz eyes him. "You're an Allmate."

"Thank you. I had noticed."

"P!" Usagimodoki contributes.

There's a momentary silence, and then Noiz names a figure. It's about what Tori had estimated, and doesn't seem to have been priced up for the content or the unusual situation, which is, he presumes, remarkably even-minded of Noiz. He wires it over without question, and sees a window pop up as Noiz receives the funds.

"All right," Noiz says. He pulls up information, skimming it over again briefly, and then pops a USB into Usagimodoki, who trills. The windows rapidly vanish as if sucked in, and he tugs the key out, tossing it to Huracan, who catches it with a claw. "It's all in there for reading, but the short version is that he's the illegitimate son of a yakuza family. The mistress left for Midorijima with him, but was recalled some years later so he could become heir since the head's wife was barren. It's basically the plot of a tv drama. He got his tattoos as his symbol of allegiance and on the day they were finished he went on a killing spree. There were some survivors; his mother wasn't one. He came back to Midorijima after some time -- don't have a lot of details on this but I guess he learned hairdressing then, which is weird as hell -- and took up business here. Got his sparrow, gathered a gang, started leading Benishigure. You'd know the rest."

"Are there names for the people involved?"

Noiz shrugs. "Yeah," he says. "On the key." But he lists names anyway for the head, for the wife, for the mistress, for the tattoo artist.

Ryuuhou again.

It's absolutely impossible not to put two and two together to get four at this point. Ryuuhou, Morphine's tattoo artist, who can put tattoos on people that make them lose their mind, act wildly. Ryuuhou, who tattooed Koujaku. Koujaku, who lost his mind, acted wildly. He would have a choice at some point between revenge and pursuit of happiness; Huracan knows that well, because Mink did likewise. So then. Koujaku came back, hung his heart on Aoba and then eventually lost out on that. Gave up on it. There might seem to be nothing left but seeing revenge. No wonder Beni was left out of discussions. No wonder Koujaku talked like they might not be together forever. It's all too familiar, and Huracan remembers the time he had to talk a blood-soaked Mink out of dying and feels, mostly, irritable.

"Thank you," he says. "I appreciate it."

"Just business," Noiz says, and waves dismissively. "Anything else?"

"Not for now," Huracan says. What's left is for him to decide what to do with this information.

But before he can turn and fly away, Usagimodoki spins and bounces toward him. "Hur-a-can, Hura-can!"

"...Yes?"

"Come again! More often! While here? Visit! Yes?"

He wonders at the Allmate's sudden interest in him; they hadn't had many interactions before. But, he supposes, he's out here acting on his own, without a Master; much like any human client Usagimodoki has seen. Perhaps the little rabbit thinks he's cool -- which, of course, he is, he agrees silently. Some admiration isn't out of line.

"Perhaps," he says magnanimously, as Noiz eyes them both with a sour and curious look. "I'm going to be a little busy."


End file.
